Tag Archives: Stephen Curry

Well, I’ve been wasting a lot of time on NBA Jam since Christmas. It’s almost a mirror image of he original with a little better graphics, and some added games like 21, remix, and domination. I was excited when they brought it back, and since I haven’t been that into video games much lately it was nice to get into this one that I had a hard time putting down as a kid. I came across this youtube clip, and since it involved Curry, I thought I’d throw it up on the blog…

I think with the NBA more than any other sport I develop mancrushs yearly. Even if the player I fall for isn’t the best of the best in the league or will ever be a top five player, I always find myself completely in tune to what that player is doing on the court and in their personal lives. My most recent was Stephen Curry, and although I still have a bromance for the kid, he’s getting married, so I’m in search of my next crush. Blake Griffin? I like him, but his robotic ways with the media doesn’t do it for me. Sorry Blake, at the beginning of the year I was about to jump on board, but your off the court presence just doesn’t do it for me. It got me thinking back to all the fun crushes I’ve had over the years, from Arenas, to Wade (until he won his championship), to Amare, to CP3, to Curry crushing it at Davidson. Ok, my mancrush didn’t peak on Curry until he was drafted by the Warriors, but even before that there was a bromance brewing when he took Davidson deep in the tourney. This all got me thinking of where the bromances all started. The first time I can truly recall an infatuation with a player was Rickey Henderson, but he still wasn’t the all-time crush. With hoops it was all about my mancrush on Latrell Spreewell for a solid five years. (I mis-spelled Spreewell on purpose because my favorite saying when I was ten was Spree For Three, so I think I thought that was how you spelled his name at the time).

Latrell Spreewell, what can you say about a guy that passes up guaranteed contracts and finds himself broke? Nothing too much that hasn’t already been said, and my mancrush was a shadow of what it originally was by the time he was broke. Two years removed from Mitch Richmond’s departure to Sacramento the Warriors picked Spree with the 24th pick in the draft. Mullin and Hardaway were still on the team, but the sign was on the wall, they were about to go into a decade plus rebuilding process. Maybe the mancrush came along because that’s when I started listening to gangsta rap, and that was when it was at it’s best. Those guys were real thugs back then, you want to know how I know they are more hard core than the rappers around now? Because most of them are in jail right now, point, set, match. At the time, there was nobody more gangster than Spree in those cornrows on the court. Playing under Don Nelson, and being one of the few productive players, he played nearly 48 minutes a game. It was something that really attracted me to the guy. He would play all 48, and look like he could go another 48 just proving the guy was in phenomenal shape. He was the reason my favorite number is 15, which says a lot since you may or may not know how much I loved Rickey Henderson. I never thought he was in the wrong for choking coach Carlisimo. Honestly, wouldn’t you strangle the coach if he was telling you what to do with this crappy roster in 1997? Seemed fair to me, and I’ll stand behind it till I part with the earth. To this day, Spree is the last Warriors player to make the All-Star game. No Jamison, no Richardson, no Davis, no Arenas, no Hughes and probably no Ellis making the mid-season exhibition this year. We get no respect… So my question for the commenters is who was your first mancrush, and who, if anyone is yours at the moment?

During yesterday’s football Sunday all I could think about was the hoops season that is right around the corner. This years Warriors team is completely different than last year. Aside from Curry, Ellis, Biendris, Reggie Williams, and Branden Wright everyone else is new. Change isn’t a bad thing for us, which started this off season with the arrival of new ownership group, and a sort of new coach (sort of is because he’s been the W’s assistant for seven years). I was a little surprised that the Warriors made this many changes from last years team that we never really saw on the court together. The 2009 unit broke the record for games missed due to injuries, and half of our 9 man roster ended up being D-League call ups. Oh well, maybe management knew something, and this new crop of players can put up huge numbers in the games played column! I guess if you’re a new management team coming in, you’d want to get as far away from the Chris Cohan era as possible, so I don’t blame them for blowing up the team a little. I’m not expecting them to make the playoffs this year. I mean I could see that happening, but that would take a perfect transition with a lot of moving/new parts involved. I’m really just looking for improvement over the season. By had a much more optimistic expectations of them, putting them as the sixth seed in the west. I hope he’s right, but I’ll temper my expectations for the time being! Here’s the Warriors story lines I’m most intrigued with for the year.

David Lee

Lee was our big long term acquisition this off season. I can’t lie, I haven’t seen him play very much. He seems to be a great blue collar type player that will give you Brian Cardinal type effort when he’s out there. In the limited time I’ve seen him play I can’t say he’s great at any one single thing, but very good at everything. It’s refreshing to have Lee and Curry as the franchise face after having quite a few slackers as our stars over the years. I do have one big question for Lee. Is going against true power forwards every night instead of going against centers going to hurt his productivity? While in NY, he was their center, going against opposing centers nightly, which he could out quick 90% of the time. I think that was a reason why he was able to put up such big numbers in scoring and rebounding. Now he will be guarded by quicker and more talented power forwards while also having to contain them on the other end of the floor. I’m not saying centers aren’t athletic, but forwards seem to be a lot more polished presently in today’s NBA. I’m also wondering how the roll on the pick and roll will go with Biens out on the floor. Center’s don’t really need to cover Biens because he has very limited offensive abilities. Will the sagging/cheating center leave Biens to clog up the lane making it tough on Lee to finish? We shall see.

I really didn’t think I’d get into the FIBA championship this year, but surprisingly I’ve caught at least a little bit of each game. Either when they decided televise them 12 hours after they happened on NBATV, or on ESPN3 when I’m at work, and not so busy. As much as I was unimpressed with the names on the squad we put together, I was very impressed with how well they’ve come together over the past month. If you watched their first game and last game, you’d see a dramatic improvement. They finally looked comfortable together against Angola, and sent them back to their country. I was surprised to find that the U.S. was not the favorite to win the title. I guess not winning the tourney since 1994 is a good reason for them to be ranked lower, but still, shouldn’t the country that invented the game be the favorite even with the rules being much different than the NBA? I’d think so, and even with the B squad they should beat down the competition. Continue reading

They don’t really have anything in common, it’s just what I felt like rambling about today. I’ve had a stretch of stuff to do, and that didn’t include much blogging. I guess it’s not a bad thing to have too much to do. If only there were more hours in the day! Anyways, it’s been somewhat slow in the sports world lately, but there were some things I felt like I wanted to get my opinion out there on, so skip to whatever interests you.

MLB Trade Deadline: I liked how much action we saw leading up to, and during the July 31st trade deadline. It seemed more active than normal. Everyone is praising the Yankees for their haul of Berkman, Kerns, and Wood.

Sure it’s nice, but I don’t really see any of them making much of a difference. All three of these guys would’ve been nice acquisitions four or five years ago, but now, not so exciting. After this weekend, I think the Rays did just as good by making a small move to get Chad Qualls. Maybe it’s the NY media trying to make everyone believe the Yankees made some genius moves, but I’m not really buying it. For me it comes down to two teams that were the big winners. The Rangers and the Padres made the moves that made the most sense for their teams to get to the playoffs. I won’t include Houston or Arizona, since we don’t really know how the trades will affect them for a few years. The Rangers addressed their biggest need in getting an ace, Cliff Lee. He hasn’t won a lot since he joined the rotation, but he’s saved the bullpen from having to do anything throwing complete games like it’s a AAA squad. They also added Christian Guzman and Jorge Cantu. They plugged up their hole at first base, and also found a replacement for Ian Kinsler since he went to the DL. I loved the meaning behind all three trades. It was especially surprising for a franchise that is bankrupt. Same goes for the Padres who have their layover until new management is in place, and they were also big winners in my eyes. They’ve been nothing short of amazing with the pitching staff and defense, but didn’t have many hitters that you really feared outside of Adrian Gonzalez. I thought they were done when they got Tejada, which MCeezy or me at this point really understand how he fit in. One thing about Tejada though, is if he’s in a good situation, he is going to fire everyone else up around him. Maybe being in the playoff hunt will spark his bat a little too. They also added Ludwick, which I was shocked to hear. Now they have a legitimate guy to put in front of or behind Gonzalez. I think these moves keep them ahead of the Giants in the NL West.

Stephen Curry’s New Team – I’m already ecstatic on the Warriors upcoming season, and adding David Lee to the roster is welcomed after the original shock of losing Anthony Randolph. Proven guy vs. a guy with a seemingly limitless ceiling. I guess you can’t argue with the proven guy that works hard with everything he does. With the new face of the franchise being Lee and Curry it may have moved the Warriors into a good character type of player instead of the me first attitude we’ve had over recent years, Monta, SJax, Baron (at times), Harrington, etc. The reason I started this ramble was that I am pretty pumped to see Curry made the cut for final 15 on team USA. No, not just because of the mancrush I have on him, but for the experience he’ll gain, and how it will help him down the road. I’m not sure he’ll make the final 12 man roster, but either way it’s a great thing for him to be there around some of the elite younger players in the league over the next month. Too bad his new teammate (David Lee) had to withdraw because of his finger, but here’s what should happen to Curry from this experience. A) He gets to play with guys that aren’t in the D-League (Pretty much the Warriors roster for the 2nd half of 2009-10). B) He might not be able to make a pact like the Miami Trio, since the dubs have him locked up for awhile, and hopefully never let him get away. I mean, he could try to make a pact with a guy like Durant, but that’s unlikely, so maybe he could make a pitch to Iguodala or Granger to move over to the Bay when their contracts are up (4 years). C) He gets to learn from Coach K., and hopefully gets some pointers on defense, and maybe learns a trick or two to stop turning the ball over. D) He gets to learn to play the ultimate team game, since winning is the ONLY thing that matters for Team USA. I don’t think I can say the same for a Nellie led Warriors squad that seems to just want to entertain at times. Hopefully when Nellie starts taking vacations in the season, the new owners dump him.

Brett Favre – Weird, he says he’s retiring for a third time, even though we saw him playing catch a few weeks ago with some High Scool kids. It’s a GREAT thing when a rumor comes out, and nobody believes it. Usually there are people on both sides of the fence, but with this one, nobody seemed to really believe he’s actually made his final decision. I guess it’s the ol’ boy who cried wolf. Love or hate the guy, he’s good for the league. I hate the guy, but do want to see him out there. I was giddy during that NFC Championship game. It was great to root for the Saints to pummel him over and over, and fortunately, they did! If he sucked last year like he did with the Jets, nobody would care half as much, and might be believing the rumor. It’s crazy that he’s the one controlling the NFC North. Is he texting to start a gambling conspiracy? The odds jumped quite a bit as soon as it was announced he is retiring, I’m just sayin… I hope it’s not true, because I like to root against him. It’s like Tiger for me, it’s not fun to root against him when he isn’t dominating. Or like my Raiders. Growing up, I would get crap from people all the time (hater nation), but now friends just feel sorry for me after losing for so long. Brett we need you as a villain, so I, like everybody else, don’t believe that you are retiring. Personally, I think it’s just a cop out, so he doesn’t have to go to training camps, and can make the Vikings bend over backwards buying him an armadillo farm to hunt at. Maybe he just likes the attention, but whatever the reason, I have a feeling he already knows what he wants to do, and that will be to play football.

I’ve more than documented my man crush on Curry, and it has even stretched to seeing how he’s spending his time in the off season, sad I know. Make no mistake, I’m not a stalker that’s going to ask Curry to go to Santa Barbra to buy some antiques with me like this guy, who has more of a fatal attraction to Kobe than a mancrush. Curry made an appearance showcasing that he has some game on Monday. No, the Warriors aren’t magically in the playoffs, and if your thinking, I already knew he was a baller, and could’ve won rookie of the year this year, but I wasn’t talking about hoops. Curry played in the Quail Hollow Championship Pro Am yesterday, and posted three birdies on his score card, which is pretty impressive. He was paired up with PGA pro Stephen Lowry, Nascar’s Michael Waltrip, his dad Dell Curry, and Charlotte police chief Rod Monroe. I’m not sure exactly what the handicaps were for each player, and I’m sure that the handicaps they had helped their group a little, but their group ended up winning the tourney shooting a 54. Pretty impressive work Stephen. I guess Dell taught him a jumper and a golf swing, even though after the tourney Steph said that his dad beat him by three strokes, I’m sure he’ll beat him the next time they play. I’m far from a good golfer, and anytime I have three birdies in a round whether the course is tough or easy, I’m usually pretty happy. I doubt Stephen gets out on the links all that much, but I have a feeling when his playing days are over he will be better than Jerry Rice is on the Nationwide tour!

Some other news broke out today on the rookie of the year that MCeezy and I debated about, and would be Tyreke Evans. He’s another Norcal baller that will put Sac back on the map . He didn’t get out on the links, instead he is being recognized for his professional accomplishments during his rookie season. Although there is no official announcement made by the NBA, Sactown Royalty seems to have the inside scoop, and has reported that Tyreke will be holding the ROY award on Thursday or Friday. I honestly didn’t get to see that much of Tyreke this year, since I live in Southern California, and it’s rare that the Kings are on anywhere outside of Sac. He joined Lebron averaging 20, 5, and 5 on the year, and had some competition from Steph Curry and Brandon Jennings, but was clearly the most consistent rookie this year. All in all a great year for the rookie, and a deserved winner of the award. Hopefully these two guys can bring Norcal out of the basement of the West.

Who knows the NBA Rookie of the Year candidates better than Doin Work? Name one blog with more content about the Kings and Warriors. We’ve been gushing about Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry all season long, so now that it’s down to a two-man race for the award, who better to weigh in on the subject than us? We’re breaking down the analysis into three categories which we feel make up the criteria for the award. The first is Stats – no explanation needed. The second is Team Performance / Influence – how well has the team played and how much is a result of the player’s impact? The third is Future Outlook – meaning whose resume is going to look better 20 years from now. Most voters will probably tell you that has nothing to do with the Rookie of the Year award, but that’s not true. Sportswriters love being right. They want to vote for the guy who’s going to have a couple MVP awards in his career so they can say, “I voted for him.” You think any writers out there are watching any Wizards’ games bragging that they voted for Mike Miller for ROY? Come take a trip with us up and down I-80 to see if the trophy is going to end up in Oakland or Sacramento this year….

STATS

Tyreke Evans (MCeezy)-The numbers don’t always tell the whole story, but I think in this case they do. Evans is averaging more than 20 pts, 5 reb, and 5 ast for the season. This fact has been well documented, including here, but in case you missed it, the only other rookies to do that are Lebron James, Michael Jordan, and Oscar Robertson. He’s in the top 20 in the league in Points, Assists, Steals, Minutes, and triple doubles. Sure, he has one, but no one who’s not named Lebron James has more. In fact, Evans’ last outing he came up one rebound shy of his second triple double. Curry’s got a slight edge in 3pt and FT%, as well as steals, but Evans’ overall numbers definitely trump those of Curry.

Stephen Curry (Chappy)- I have to concede that Tyreke’s numbers are superior to Curry’s, but in Curry’s defense, his first two months under Nellie were inconsistent to say the least. There were games when he’d play 35-40 minutes, and the next night he’d play 10-15. I’m not sure if it was Ellis saying that they couldn’t play together, but either way Nellie didn’t seem to trust him that much. Since the Warriors were struck furiously by the injury bug, Curry’s minutes went up and so did his production. Since December, he’s had close to the same numbers as Reke averging 20 pts, 4 rebs, 4 assists, and nearly 2 steals. He’s easily been the most improved rookie over the season. Continue reading

Maybe Curry is trying to get recognized in elevators, or maybe Curry just wants to take us to the alternate universe that is your 2009-10 Golden State Warriors. Whatever the case, if any sports fans actually read GQ, then they will get to read about Stephen Curry’s rookie campaign. Having many guys already hurt (Biendris, Wright, and Turiaf) they have no size, so Curry’s blog may well be the one thing to consistently follow this season!

In his first entry Curry tells us about how he was just about ready to suit up for the game, and needed to go to back to his car. No, not to get his shoes that he left at the hotel or that he needed something that would help him during the game, but he went back to his car to re-tape himself pulling up to the arena for NBA.com. Yes, this always seems to be a problem we run into. Hey Mceezy, you forgot to tag those links in this mornings post! So much for spontaneity! I did LOVE how he gave the Oracle crowd props for being so loud towards the end of the game! More than I can say for SJax…

In his second entry, Curry faced off with the legendary Steve Nash, and seemed to think that he could emulate him one day. I hope he’s right, and I hope that is with the Warriors. It wasn’t all that exciting of an entry, but did produce this golden nugget of a quote.

“We had Saturday off, and then Sunday was probably our best practice of the year. Everybody was focused and working hard for two hours. And the veterans, they don’t really do that too often. I think the mood of the team is pretty positive right now, even though we’re 0-2. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. [Golden State would beat Memphis 113-105 the next night]”

I guess this is something that dubs fans probably knew for awhile, but it kind of sucks to see it in writing. I guess that’s probably why they have long mental lapses during the games. I guess if AI doesn’t need practice, then why would any of the other veterans!

Anthony Randolph won't hit his full stride for a few years, but this season we will see his true potential!

Ready or not dubs fans the season is about to start for us on Wednesday against the Suns. We have about the same ceiling/basement as most recent Warriors seasons. I’m guessing our ceiling would be a 7th or 8th seed in the west, and our basement is, well, we know what the basement is all about from the last decade plus. I can understand why some of the players (Jackson and Ellis) are somewhat confused at the organizations lack of movement in any one direction this offseason. Even the movement they did make it was pretty suspect as they added even more guards to the roster. I can’t say there’s any reason to be shocked, and nor should any long time Warriors fan. It’s rough watching Rowell sign extensions and trade for point guards, but we understand that our ownership just doesn’t like to make normal decisions. Maybe Al Davis and Cohan speak regularly on how to make Bay Area fans miserable. The thing that has bugged me the most out of all of these years, is that we do have a great fan base, and are the fifth largest basketball market in the country. It’s been a widespread hope for years that Cohan would sell the team, but fans have been disappointed as talks died down each time. It’s just amazing that bigger named players can’t be brought here, since they are in such a good market. I guess the Cohan’s (losing) label has stuck a little too well forcing all free agents to head for the hills when the W’s call. Anyways, I have high hopes for this team in the near future maybe not this year per say, but sooner than later they should mold into a solid cast, if we actually CAN keep them together.

Let’s start with the trouble makers that kept the Warriors camp relevant in the NBA news over the summer. I think I’ve said about all I can on Stephen Jackson, and how his time in a Warriors jersey was much appreciated, but now it’s time to for us and him to move on. I’ve been a huge fan of Monta Ellis since he was drafted by the Warriors, but this summer he proved that he still is slightly childish. He didn’t want the W’s to take a guard in the draft. Sure enough, they did. At the time I felt it would have been a big mistake to take anyone other than Curry, so I’m glad we did. He said that Curry and himself couldn’t play together, and it looks like they’re both in the starting lineup for Friday night. Maybe I just never noticed it, or maybe Jackson has rubbed off on Monta with his gripes. I can understand his points and where he’s coming from, but he should have done a little more research before he signed his contract! I hope he can suck it up, and just play like the guy that flew around the court and gave oppositions nightmares on defense. I think he will, and Nelson will use his ability’s well at the 2. I haven’t really seen anything promising as far as distributing the ball with him, so I’m not really buying he was cut out to man the point. I’m down for a surprise, if he can prove me wrong!

Curry didn't shoot well in the preseason, but he'll find his stroke.

Which moves us to Curry. He seems to be the most professional about all the drama that has unfolded this offseason (maybe his daddy Del helped him out with that), but he’s been very composed considering a lot of it has surrounded him. I had mixed feelings when we drafted him as I’ve had a mancrush on him for at least three years, but it sounded like he didn’t want to come to Golden State. Before the draft he didn’t even want to work out for the W’s, and it was already upsetting one of our young stars (Monta) that he was being considered. Alas, I’ve come around after watching him play in a few games this pre-season with some actual pros. I really liked how he managed the game, and seemed to know how to run an offense showing off his high basketball IQ, which must just be a hereditary thing. Now that he’s been named the starter for opening night, I can only hope he makes more correct decisions that wrong ones. If he struggles early, I could see him out of the starting lineup quick, but with very little competition at PG I think he might stick. I’m sure some of his training this offseason with CP3 taught him a thing or two about being prepared. Nellie has been glowing about him, calling him a young Steve Nash. It’s pretty high praises, but Nellie says a lot of weird stuff!

Stephen Jackson, Anthony Randolph, and Andris Biendris are supposed to round out the lineup. Although Jackson and Randolph are both questionable it looks as though they will both play in the opener. Randolph’s back is slightly more concerning, but there are still a few days before the season starts for him to rest. The freakishly gifted Randolph showed off at the Summer Leagues, and is rinally ready to reel in some minutes, that should bump up his already impressive stats in a small sample size. It’s crazy that he might not even peak for another five years! He is finally out of Nellie’s doghouse through working extremely hard through the offseason, and once again is a main reason for optimism in Oakland. He added 20 pounds of muscle, and was constantly working on his game which should translate to a breakout campaign.

Biens blocking Josh Smith!

Biens could possibly be my favorite player on their team. I guess that Latvian charm wore off on me because I’m not really big on his style of play or the excitement level he creates when he’s on the court. It’s more on how he approaches the game, and has handled himself throughout his career as a Warrior. He never complained once about not having a contract until his was up. He has consistently gotten better each season in one area or another. He’s only 23! He appreciates the game and what he is a part of. This summer he reportedly has been expanding his offensive game. Word is he has been working on facing up, and post moves as defenders were playing his tendencies too much last season. It’s the one facet of his game that has always had criticism, and now he’s addressing it. Just one more reason to like this kid! No matter what happens, I think we’ll get our money’s worth out of him on the court.

Morrow was stroking it in the preseason!

Our bench should be very interesting this year. It will be shuffling who is coming off the bench based on who is starting, but with Morrow/Curry, Maggette, Turiaf, and Azubuike it looks like we should be able to outscore a lot of second teams in the league. Morrow and Maggette have been great this pre-season, and possibly the best looking players on the team at times. They are very efficient in scoring, so hopefully that will continue to through the start of the regular season. Morrow could be the most interesting Warrior this year. It’s likely he’ll see the same 20-25 minutes per game since Nellie loves the three, but since he has been working hard on his defense, he might find a few extra minutes if he truly has improved. I find that a lot of people forget we even have Maggette, which is understandable, but he is the physical type of player we need to wear teams down and get the foul counts up to be in the bonus late in games. We have plenty of scoring, but our main problem once again is that we’re painfully thin at forward, and really only have one true center on the roster. Hopefully a speedy recovery from Branden Wright can help that. I’m worried having a rotation of bigs that includes Mikki Moore. Should be an interesting season! I’m hoping for the best, but as always I will be prepared for the worst!

Most media days for the beginning of the NBA season are pretty boring, but when it comes to the Warriors they always seem to have something interesting going on. It’s not a good thing, but I feel it was mildly better than last year. Last season they had a lot to talk about with, the direction of the team, the big contracts that they should have given to Baron over Maggette, and Monta’s scooter accident. Once again, Monta made a splash at the media day, and SJax had his fair share to say about his ongoing trade demands. All of the hoopla this season doesn’t really discourage me as much as last seasons distractions did.

Well, since I’ve been following SJax on his rampage of trade demands, I’ll start with him. It sounds like not much has changed since his Dime Interview when he said he wanted to go to a contender. He basically reiterated that he did want out of Golden State during media day, but also verbally vomited on a few other subjects that I found interesting. He answered my question as to why he signed that extension just before asking to be traded, which was “Who’s going to turn down that money? I’m not stupid. I didn’t go to college but I’ve got a lot of common sense,”. I see his point of view as nobody would have given him that much, but if you really want to be on a winner why would you handcuff your team like that? Shouldn’t he have taken the Artest route and signed for less than what he was worth on a contender when his contract was up?! Honestly though, I don’t find SJax as being a distraction, because one thing is for sure, when he’s out on that court you know he will play his hardest. Whether he’d rather be somewhere else or not he’s just the kind of player that tanks games, he’s competitive and wants to win games period. If he doesn’t play hard for himself he’ll do it for his teammates, which is why I still agree with making him a captain. He played a lot of meaningless minutes last year and seemed to give it his all, so if we don’t move him I don’t see it being a big problem. For some reason he also spouted off about not regretting anything he’s done including going into the crowd with Artest in the Detroit melee. He felt that may have been one of the reasons the NBA picked to fine him $25K for his comments, and didn’t fine a guy like Kobe for making the same statement. Here’s the whole interview, but don’t take TK’s words too strongly he’s a douchebag.

Monta came out to talk with the media a little while after Jackson did. He usually is pretty boring in interviews, and rarely says anything of relevance. He started off good saying the right things just about winning, and how his ankle was 100%. He want’s to show everybody that his hard work over the off-season would made him better than he was before his injury. When asked about playing PG this year he kept re-iterating that he didn’t care where he played just as long as he was on the floor. He didn’t seem fazed by SJax’s situation either as he knows that when the ball is tipped off Jackson will be there ready to play. He also said that it’s Jackson’s deal to work out, so he can’t be concerned with it.

Randolph and Ellis ARE the future of the Warriors

The interesting /controversial part of the interview came next when he was asked about playing with Stephen Curry, their newly acquired first round draft pick. He stated that they couldn’t play together, because it’s not a way to win having two small guards on the floor. He was very adamant that it wouldn’t work unless there was a rare case that the other team went really small. I’ve had a man crush on Curry since before he took Davidson to the Elite 8, and for some reason drafting him was bittersweet as I knew in the back of my mind that we were going to be upsetting Monta, since before the draft he pleaded for the W’s not to pick a PG. Well, it looks as though it didn’t really upset him, but didn’t address any area that he felt they needed. He felt they’ll lose if Nellie goes small and plays them both. Here’s the rest of the interview with Monta, keep in mind that TK’s analysis is off the wall at times. Nellie already said that Jackson, Randolph, Biendris, and Ellis would be starters, but who is the fourth? Azubuike, Morrow, Wright, or Curry? Only time will tell, but I hope it’s Buike or Morrow. I’m not sure why I’m even worried about Nellie playing a rookie too much anyways! At least the Warriors problems this season are more on the court instead of off the court distractions!

After some hard work in the offseason, it looks like Randolph is out of Nellie's doghouse and into the starting lineup.

The seemingly senile 79 year old Warriors head coach, Don Nelson, made a statement yesterday, saying he wanted to work for free one year after his current contract expired. So he would be with the team for the 2011-2012 season. I personally like the idea, considering we could do far worse at the coaching position, and how can you pass anything up that’s free! In his second tenure with the team he has show that he is the only good coach we’ve had over the past two decades as he’s led us to the playoffs in both tenures! He said he wanted to give something back to the franchise, which surprises me because he’s made us more successful than we knew possible earlier this decade! Also, I’m very weary of a guy that sued his former boss (Mark Cuban) for not paying him while he slowly handed the reigns of the Mavericks over to Avery Johnson, and seemed to disappear at the end of his time there. I know Nellie likes to make a lot of outrageous statements, and this may not be any exception, but he must see some potential in this young core the Warriors currently have. This was his statement as he spoke to President Robert Rowell;

“I told him that I would like to give the Warriors one more year (beyond the contract) that will cost the team nothing,” Nelson said. “Whether it’s coaching or carrying bags, whatever, it doesn’t matter. I’ll give one more year to say ‘thanks,’ and ‘I appreciate the extension.’ ” For the whole article in the SF Chronicle.

I think Warrior nation will be fine with this, as long as we don’t start dumping off our youthful talent like we always do.

Nellie isn't a spring chicken, not sure why he wants to lock up work through his 82nd bday...

Nellie must like the current configuration or he wouldn’t have offered to stick around to watch them grow. Maybe he does have a soft spot for the younger guys more than I thought. He also stated our starting four for the upcoming season, and it looks like there will be a good battle for the fifth spot. He said that Ellis, Jackson, Randolph, and Biendris will start. There are four guys that could get that final spot that will be decided between Morrow, Wright, Azubuike, and Curry. Maggette being their 6th man. I can’t believe he put Curry into the starting mix, after years of out casting rookies! Maybe he has a bigger man crush on Curry than I do… If they somehow unload Jackson, which Nellie stated they are trying to do, this will be the youngest starting group in the NBA. Keep your heads up Warriors fans, at least we have a coach that wants to be here, well he says he does anyways.

Anthony Morrow’s summer league record 47 point performance was the latest in a string of events producing optimism for East Bay sports franchises. It’s been a well-document rough decade for fans of the Warriors, Raiders, and A’s. The Warriors have one playoff appearance in the last fifteen years. The A’s days as the low budget cinderella story are long behind them. And the Raiders, well, they’ve become the subject of ridicule to the say the least, and quite possibly have earned the reputation as the most dysfunctional franchise in all of pro sports. Outsiders will often question Oakland fans’ blind faith, but the fact that there is hope is always enough to keep us coming back. These teams don’t exactly lay dormant during the offseason like some I can think of. I couldn’t imagine being a Royals fan, or a Pirates fan, or a Grizzlies fan. Almost every offseason, these three teams give reason for optimism. Hope, if you will. The Raiders bring in guys like Randy Moss and Deangelo Hall. The A’s bring in guys like Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi. It may be all there is to cling to, but I’ll take that over just going through the motions any day. True, the lows have far outweighed the highs, but, at the end of the day, we’ve still seen a Super Bowl berth, an American League Championship Series, and one of this decades greatest NBA Playoff runs of all time.

The Warriors are now two full seasons removed from their lone playoff appearance that we can remember. They followed that up with the best regular season record to NOT make the playoffs, and then came crashing back down to earth last season. They lost Jamal Crawford this offseason, but as great of a player as he is, the team didn’t live or die by him. In other words, they’re just as good with or without him. The only major addition this offseason was Stephen Curry, but that came as a surprise to many who expected GSW to draft another big man that may or may not see the floor. You know, someone like Joe Smith, Todd Fuller, Brandan Wright, Jordan Hill maybe. Instead, they got a shooter that is so desperately needed. Not only that, they got a player who has never been regarded as a “project” or having “potential.” Someone that HAS been labeled as such is last year’s lottery pick, Anthony Randolph. Those who have seen him play know he could be a one of a kind superstar in this league if he hones his game to match his potential. It seemed to be a big IF last season, as the first few games I saw him play left me declaring him one of the most clueless off-ball defenders I’ve ever seen in the NBA. However, a few blocks and dunks later and it’s all forgotten. This summer, Randolph has vowed to take his game to the next level, and he’s backed it up in the Las Vegas Summer League. It’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that he’ll win the MVP award, and he’s opened many eyes across the nation, including those of Team USA, who has extended an invitation to the team’s camp.

With Randolph sitting out Thursday night, it was the other Anthony who stood in to fill up the box score. Shooting 18-26 from the field, including 7 three-pointers, Morrow broke the 2 day old summer league record by 5. Critics might say it was just a summer league game, which is fair. Von Wafer shared the 42 point record. Donte Greene even managed to score 40 last year, and he looked, in 08-09, like one of the worst players in the league at times. However, this was no fluke. This was not Morrow beating helpless D-league players off the dribble and taking it to the rack over 6’8″ stiffs. Morrow is a spot up shooter, both from the pass and off the dribble. He has a quick release that renders whoever is guarding him insignificant. After all, the guy led the NBA in 3 point shooting last year – hardly a fluke. Chappy and I were also in attendence last November for what we’ll forever refer to as “The Anthony Morrow Game,” when he torched the juggernaut that is the Clippers defense for 37 points in the Staples Center in Los Angeles. (You can see us in the second row just to the right of the basket)

The best part about all of this is Randolph and Morrow are, for all intents and purposes, afterthoughts on this Golden State Warriors roster. They’re not right now, but during the season you look at the team and you see Stephen Jackson, Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette, and Andris Biedrins. Now, factor in the new and improved Anthonys, along with Steph Curry, and this team is pretty stacked. Warriors fans can’t wait for the season to start! Will they make they make the playoffs, or even have a .500 season? Maybe, maybe not. But that’s the beauty of being an Oakland fan. Every upcoming season is going to be one to remember…………….. for better or for worse. -MCeezy

It shouldn't be long before scenes like this return to the Arena in Oakland

The 2009 NBA Draft featured something we haven’t seen since 1998: Three California teams picking in the top 10. That year was highlighted by the Sacramento Kings’ selection of Jason Williams, an unfortunate swap of Vince Carter of Antawn Jamison (which didn’t really turn out that bad) and a Clippers’ pick we’ll touch on in a minute. Once again this year, the San Diego Clippers chose first, the Kings picked fourth, and the Golden State Warriors held the 7th selection.

Los Angeles Clippers #1: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

From the producers of Michael Olowokandi, in came the consensus #1 pick. I’ve been a long-time skeptic of Blake Griffin. This past season, I was finally sold on Griffin being a solid all-around player. He’s been dubbed as the “can’t-miss” selection of the draft. What I’m not sold on is him becoming a great player. Most will agree he’ll be a “long-time NBA starter.” What that will translate to, I’m not sure. All we can go on is the facts. They are the Clippers. Elton Brand managed to lead the Clippers to one postseason berth in his time in LA. He set the bar pretty high. I’m not sure if Griffin can lead them to the postseason, but they do also have Baron Davis, Zach Randolph, Eric Gordon, and Al Thornton. Problem is, the losing culture of the franchise will overshadow all, including Griffin’s performance.

Sacramento Kings #4: Tyreke Evans, Memphis

Local sentiment favored Ricky Rubio, for the simple fact that many around here saw him as the next coming of Jason Williams. J-Will didn’t single-handedly turn the franchise around – he had some help – but he was probably the most responsible for generating excitement and fan support. It seemed like a match made in heaven. Sac needed a point guard, and Rubio wanted to come here. The Kings, however, instead opted for Evans. I have to agree with the pick. I have stated for a while now that Evans probably has the most star potential in this year’s draft. How he’ll work out at PG I’m not sure, but he gives the Kings a much-needed scoring threat. While I definitely see them improving on their impressive 17 win total from a year ago, the possible outcomes are many. His production will constantly be compared with Rubio’s, as many will wonder what could’ve been.

Golden State Warriors #7: Stephen Curry, Davidson

I have wondered for a long time if Curry would be able to succeed at the elite level. I’m still not sure if he can. He impressed everywhere he worked out leading up to the draft, but many of those workouts are based largely around shooting displays – something we know Curry exceeds at. The Warriors’ front office proclaims that he is the perfect fit for their system. His game is so similar, yet different from Monta Ellis. He does give them a much needed shooter. Regardless of what happens, I love this pick for two reasons. He’s not Jordan Hill, who was probably the W’s backup choice. Second, I loved it simply for the reaction it got from Knicks’ fans. I loved seeing their player get snatched up right before their pick, and then watching them settle for Jordan Hill. Many thought Curry would be dealt, most likely to Phoenix. However, Don Nelson today stated on the record that Curry could “unpack his bags, even buy a house,” because he “ain’t going anyplace.” Problem is, Nellie’s word doesn’t carry much weight.